Warren's Sweat Blog

It’s official, I am an NYC Marathon finisher! It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t fast, but it made my first trip to The Big Apple one I’ll never forget!

I left home on Thursday, November 2nd, and had a layover in Denver. In a vain attempt to amuse myself, I took a picture of the carpet and asked people on Facebook to guess what airport I was in. Kind of a “Where’s Waldo” of airport decor.

As we flew over God-knows-where…

…I saw my first nighttime thunderstorm from above. It was much cooler than this lame video.

Finally, we landed at La Guardia. We circled Manhattan at least once, so I got a decent shot.

I thought I might get to my hotel before midnight, but the lines at the cab station were really long (40-minute wait) and there was a ton of traffic due to construction going on at the airport. So, I got to my tiny hotel room (so tiny it didn’t even have a mini-fridge or coffee maker) around 1 a.m. and took a panorama to make it look bigger. Then I consulted the in-room magazine and my phone looking for a place to eat. I thought this wouldn’t be a problem in “the city that never sleeps,” but apparently that only covers construction. According to the internet, most restaurants were closed, so I decided to just walk around looking for something that was open. At bare minimum, I saw a CVS drug store on the cab ride in, so I knew I wouldn’t starve.

I didn’t have many touristy goals, but I did want to visit the 9/11 memorial, eat some street food and get a slice of NY pizza at a real hole-in-the-wall pizzeria. (Oh, and ride in a real NY taxi, so mission partially accomplished on the way in.) As I wandered around the city close to 2 a.m., the only thing that looked interesting was the food carts. So, after stopping at CVS for food and drinks that didn’t need refrigeration, I grabbed a Philly cheesesteak at the stand across the street and headed back to my hotel room. Mission even more partially accomplished, I guess. It was good, though!

Friday, November 3rd.

When I finally woke up, I ventured downstairs to look for more food and some coffee. There was a Starbucks and a coffee shop adjacent the hotel, so I didn’t even have to leave. But I wanted to walk around a little and see my new neighborhood in the daylight. It was cool, being in a new city, but I didn’t want to look too touristy, so I just tried to blend in with the crowd. I probably stood out like a sore thumb, but after a while, at least I got the flow of pedestrian traffic: streetlights don’t apply to you.

After walking around a bit, I decided to grab something for the room at the market across the street (snacks and cold-brew coffee in a can), then wandered into the hotel coffee shop and had some steak and eggs. I’m glad I saved up for this trip because it was about $25 without the tip. But I did save for it because I didn’t want to think about money while I was there.

I didn’t plan on visiting Grand Central Station, but it was the nearest full-service subway stop to my hotel—only about six blocks away—and I needed to go to the expo to pick up my race stuff.

Because I’m a nerd, I had to visit the Apple Store there. It was so crowded, I didn’t even bother going in. It’s not like I needed anything, so I just kept looking for my train.

I went to the ticket machines and kept looking for the Hudson line. None of them had it listed, so I kept checking my phone and the MTA website said that was the one I needed.

About an hour later, I broke down and asked the person at the info booth for help. Turns out there’s a difference between a subway and a train. ::smacks forehead::

Once I got that sorted, it was a short ride and a short walk to the expo. I knew which stop to get off at, and there were so many people wearing race gear that I didn’t bother asking for or looking up directions. I just went with the crowd and ended up at the expo.

Just a few days before the race, some deluded Muslim immigrant decided it would be a good idea to drive a rented truck into some people riding bike and running on a walkway in Manhattan. So, security was understandably tight all over the city. But once inside, getting my stuff and doing some shopping was easy.

Before I left for NYC, I asked all my friends for advice.

Carrie told me to look for these plastic pants at the expo because I’d be standing/sitting around at the starting area for hours before the race and they made a big difference in the wind and cold. By the time I got to this booth, they were sold out of my size, so I would need to return the next day if I was going to get a pair. I didn’t need the jacket because I finally remembered to bring my throw-away jacket from the Portland Marathon to this event.

So I left the expo and went back to my room to chill for a while. On the way, I grabbed my NY slice at 99 Cent Fresh Pizza: two slices and a bottled water for $2.75—such a deal!

As luck would have it, friends/former TNT coaches Adam and Meghan were in NYC on vacation (no running involved) and we hung out for the first time in a long time…probably since they “retired” from coaching. We ended up having dinner that night and the night before the race, too. On Friday night, we met a friend of theirs for drinks at Grand Central Station. The story is that one of the station’s board members was a guy named Campbell and he used to live there in an apartment. When they renovated it, they turned it into a swanky bar called…Campbell Apartment. And I thought NY was a creative town?

Anyway, we had a few drinks and appetizers and their friend Bill, who graciously picked up the check. He played football with Adam in college and that’s where he met Meghan, too. We had a great time, then he had to go home and Adam, Meghan and I went to dinner at some place I passed on my way to the train station: Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse. Like a lot of places in the city, they had a “marathon special,” which was a salad and any two pasta dishes from their prix fixe menu. I had the beet salad, mushroom gnocchi and pasta bolognese. It was awesome!

Saturday, November 4th.

More wake and walk. Got up, had my cold-brew coffee and headed to Grand Central to go back to the expo. I was supposed meet a TNT teammate and take a bus tour of the course—another recommendation from my marathoner friends—but when I got there, they said they were going to be late. While standing in line, I looked down and saw a little dead bird. I guess he flew into the huge glass building. It reminded my of the dying rat I saw before the Portland Marathon, so naturally, I had to take a picture of it. It was sad. Also, I must be weird to want to take pictures of dead/dying animals.

After seeing the poor, little dead bird, I talked to the tour guide. She said the tour was going to take about four hours. I was kind of freaked out because I didn’t want to be on a bus that long. For some reason, I figured it was just going to take maybe three hours to cover 26.2 miles, but I didn’t count on city traffic and getting out to Staten Island to start the route. Fortunately, my teammate and her friend were going to be so late, they’d miss the tour anyway, so we just met up and went shopping.

After that, we all met Meghan and Adam for dinner at a little ramen restaurant called Momosan, which is owned by and named after Iron Chef Morimoto. We had a bit of a wait because it’s too small to take reservations and I guess it’s super-popular. There isn’t even a good place to wait, so Adam and I just stood by the door acting as doormen for people entering and leaving so we wouldn’t get hit by the door every other minute. After checking that there was something that wouldn’t kill Adam, who’s allergic to seafood, we chowed down on some delicious ramen! Then, we said our goodbyes and I went back to my room to prepare for the race.

The TNT customary “dressed chair.”

Warm stuff to donate to Goodwill at the starting village.

The disposable outer layer.

I went to be nice and early because I knew I had a long day ahead of me.

Sunday, November 5th—race day!

I got some good sleep, but still didn’t need my alarm in the morning. I was probably up by 3:30 a.m. and needed to be at Grand Central by 6:15 to catch the 7 a.m. Staten Island ferry. It was amazing how quickly I got used to the subway system, and it really did make getting around a piece of cake.

Once on the ferry, I had some time to take touristy pics.

I knew there would be a lot of standing around, because my race corral wouldn’t even start until 11 a.m., but it took over an hour to go from the ferry building on Staten Island to the buses that would take us to the starting village. I’m sure that didn’t help my finish time!

Race motivation/propaganda.

For Paulie.

The marathon starts up there!

Ayyy, fahgettaboutit!

My Portland jacket doubles as urban camouflage. Also, I’m modeling my stylish, plastic pants.

In my starting corral, getting ready to line up on the bridge.

One of the tips I got was to either start on the top deck of the bridge or stand in the middle of the lower deck—because people pee off the top deck while waiting for their corrals to start the race. GROSS! I mean, it isn’t like there aren’t a TON of porta-potties at the start village!

Anyway, I made sure to start on the top deck.

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is the steepest, tallest hill on the course. Naturally, you start there when you have all that pent-up race energy! Fortunately, we attended a pre-race strategy talk given by two members of the New York Road Runners Club. They basically said, “Run this part if you want to have a bad race.” So, I walked it. It was hard watching everyone run past me, but I knew I wasn’t going to have a good finish time. I had been nursing a knee injury all season and wasn’t training fast, so I knew I wasn’t going to finish fast.

Welcome to Brooklyn, the second of the five boroughs!

The weather, as you can see, was overcast and drizzly. That made it perfect running weather, but I have a feeling it kept the crowds away. If I had to guess, I’d say that there were more spectators at the 2014 Chicago Marathon (the other “world major” I’d run). But that was fine with me. I just wanted enjoy my tour of NYC—and to finish the damn marathon.

Feeling good at the 10km mark. Still well aware that there are 20 more miles to go!

I also decided to walk the Ed Koch Queensboro/59th Street Bridge. It was just slightly longer than its name. Once you descend this bridge, you’re on Manhattan and there is supposed to be this huge crowd cheering you on. Well, the rain must’ve kept some of them away and the fact that it took me so long to get there meant they were all cheered-out. But a woman in front of me urged them on, waving her arms toward the crowd like a football player who’d just made a big play. That got them going!

One of the weird things about this race is that the 11 a.m. start means slowpokes like me finish in the dark. I took these as I was entering Central Park and everything was already lit up.

One of the best parts of the race was inside Central Park. Adam and Meghan were going to a show and during dinner, we did the math and found out they might have a window of opportunity to look for me. Sure enough, just as I was running out of gas and was wondering when this damned race was going to end, I heard, “WARREN!!!!!” and saw them waving at me.

Here’s Adam walking next to me as I try to finish this race at, like, a 14:30 min/mile pace.

Running through Central Park was kind of cool. What wasn’t cool was how the course makes several turns, so you never really know where the finish line is until you’re almost there.

Al…most…there!

I’m known around TNT (and elsewhere) for my potty mouth. Someone wanted to know if I had any profanity for this race, so I had my phone out near the end so I could capture my unfiltered thoughts right after I crossed the finish line. And here’s what I said:

Rated R: Children under 17—and prudes—must be accompanied by an adult.

But, as painful as it was, it was like every other marathon I’ve done. WORTH IT!

Here’s a closeup taken after a long shower and a nice meal at the hotel coffee shop.

After the race, you have to go through what is known as “the 27th Mile.” Basically, it’s dangerous to stop moving after a marathon. The sudden drop in blood pressure can make you pass out. There may be other reasons, too, but that’s why they keep you moving. And moving. And moving. They give you a mylar “heat sheet” as soon as you cross the finish line, but you have to walk about .75 of a mile to get all of your post-race food and drinks and get out of the park. Then, if you ordered a sweet post-race poncho like I did, you have to walk more to get it. And if you thought it would be easier to check a gear bag, you have to walk the same distance the other direction to get your stuff. All in all, I walked almost an extra two miles after the race.

I was really, really tired, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a cab or Lyft right outside Central Park. Your race bib gets you free passage on the subway, so I figured I’d just get away from there and catch a ride to my hotel wherever I got off. I had a vague idea where I needed to go, but when I got off at the Times Square station, I accidentally exited the station. Not wanting to deal with anymore stairs than I absolutely had to, I decided to pay a little more and hail a ride right there.

After the race, we were all texting each other, but we were too tired to meet up. I showered and had a big plate of chicken and pasta with Alfredo sauce, and a Lagunitas, to celebrate. Then I went to bed without a post-race scotch.

Monday, November 6th

I slept great, which isn’t always the case after these things. I guess my slowest-ever marathon time of 6 hours, 11 minutes and 19 seconds didn’t take as much out of me as other marathons had.

After looking for food, I found a nice Irish pub, Blackwell’s, and ordered a nice corned beef sandwich and a pint of something…probably a Guinness. As I was finishing, I got a text from Sara and Todd, who wanted to meet up with me before I left. I told her that I was done eating but would love to have a drink with them. So, I waited around. At a table near me was an old lady apparently named Frances, who was complaining about the air conditioning and her food not being ready fast enough. I know her name was Frances because the waitress said, “Oh Frances, stop complaining. You know it always takes this long. It’ll be out in a minute.” I kind of laughed to myself because it was the kind of scene you’d expect in a movie shot in an Irish pub in New York.

On my way to the airport, I took another taxi. We drove by the Queensboro Bridge, so I took another shot of it. I swear, the cabbies drive like it’s a video game. I guess that’s what inspired the inspiration for the Grand Theft Auto video game series.

Thanks for a great time, New York! I’ll be back someday, but not for the marathon. I think I’m fairly comfortable with doing six. Since I’m not getting faster, and don’t want to do the kind of work necessary to GET faster, I’m at the end of my marathon chapter of my life. I never say “never,” but I don’t think I’ll do another one. The training is too much and the pain is too great. I’ll just have to do more half marathons!

I wanted to do something special for my 10th fundraising season, partly because it’s my 10th season, but mostly because my donors have experienced “donor fatigue” and fundraising has gotten harder.

My original plan was to do what I thought I’d never do—a triathlon—and create a buzz that way. But the tri I wanted to do for sentimental reasons—the Wildflower Festival in Central CA—was canceled due to low water levels. So I decided to just promote the hell out of the fact that I was doing the NYC marathon, which I’d gotten into last year, but had to put off due to lack of funds.

Coincidentally, we got lots of rain this past winter and the Wildflower Festival probably could’ve been held. Oh well, I’ll save that one for my 20th season.

Officially, I signed up with Team in Training to do the San Francisco Giant Race, which is a flat-ish half-marathon course along the Embarcadero. I did it last summer and it was great! But that was held a few weeks ago (I did okay, not great).

The best part about that was achieving rockstar status for exceeding my fundraising minimum by more than $1,000! My previous fundraising record was just shy of $3,200. This season, thanks in large part to two, super-generous supporters, I was able to raise $4,925!

On the training side, things are a tough slog. I gained back the weight I’d lost two years ago and I’m two years older. So, things aren’t progressing as I’d hoped. But I’m taking a different approach this year and doing more long runs, the goal of which is to build up structural strength for those later miles. I don’t plan on going faster, but I really want to enjoy this race, not suffer through it. NYC Marathon is the biggest race in the world and I want to take in all the sights along the way. So, by doing a few more 15-to-20- mile runs, I hope to prepare my body for the pounding. Of course, I have to be extra-vigilant against aches and pains that could turn into serious injuries that would prevent me from running the marathon. So, it’s a balancing act of training and preventive measures (stretching and icing) and recovery.

Because these write-ups are always so damned long, here’s a summary:

• I wasn’t able to sustain my 11:15 minutes/mile goal pace through the longer runs (16, 18 and 20 miles). So, unlike last year, I readjusted my race goals closer to reality.
• I still didn’t hit my goal of a PR, but I came pretty close on a slightly tougher course, so I feel pretty good about my performance. If you don’t want to click that link, my official time was 5 hours, 19 minutes and 16 seconds.
• I was really stoked to do a marathon with one of my dearest (I won’t say “oldest”) friends, who was instrumental in getting me to join Team in Training in the first place.
• I had a great time with all of my teammates in Seattle, which is a great city!
• I am grateful for the support of my friends — and especially my coaches — who were either with me in spirit or actually supporting me on the course. When you’re as slow as I am, you have a lot of time to think during a marathon. Chances are, if you’re reading this, I thought about you. Thank you for being there for me!

Here is the data from my GPS watch:

Now for the boring details.

The end of the training season.

After my horrible experience last year at Portland, I decided I could no longer just show up to training sessions and expect to improve. I have officially plateaued and needed to change things up.

My new “plan” was to really push myself every time I did a running workout, whether that was at the track or doing hill repeats. I did Thursday buddy runs at a tempo pace. And my long runs were done at my goal pace of 11:15 minutes/mile, which would enable me to break 5 hours — if I were able to sustain that pace over the course of a marathon.

Of course, things don’t always go according to plan, and my pace began to drop once the runs got longer.

My 16-mile run was done during the Big Sur International Marathon. I was part of a relay team and one runner had to drop out, so it worked out just fine. I ran the second and third legs, handed off the baton to my teammate and run wife Jen, who finished the race for our team. Meanwhile, I kept running until my watch said I’d done 16 miles. Then I still had to get to the finish line, so I ended up running 21.5 miles total. But everything after Mile 16 was done at a more leisurely pace. Still, doing the second and third legs of the relay meant I had to “race” up and down Hurricane Point — which is about a 500-foot climb in two miles — and we dealt with headwinds from the Northwest that peaked at 50 MPH! It was so windy that when the road turned inland and the wind became a crosswind, it blew my legs around and made it hard to run without tripping myself.

So when I calculated my 16-mile pace, I wasn’t too upset about my 11:41 min./mile pace. I felt pretty good at the end, despite jumping from 14 miles to 21.5 miles. Pretty sure my coaches would not be happy if I’d told them about this ahead of time.

Three weeks later, we did our normal San Francisco 18-mile training run. This course would have more elevation gain than the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon in fewer miles, but my 12:00 min./mile pace was still pretty disappointing. So, this is when I realized that I wasn’t going to break 5 hours in Seattle.

A glimmer of hope.

One of my favorite races is the Capitola Half Marathon. It follows the coast, is mostly flat, and usually has great weather. It’s also a little short, so in order to get my half-marathon badge on Strava, I have to walk a little extra after I cross the finish line before I stop my watch.

This year, I picked up some new shoes which are amazing in every way except one: the right shoe rubs my ankle, which is annoying and could lead to a blister! I figured they would be okay to train in and I could always go back to my ASICS for races and long runs. But for some reason, I laced up these shoes for Capitola. They ended up working pretty well. I didn’t even get a hot spot on my right ankle. And I felt really good that day! I clobbered my half-marathon PR by about five minutes! My secret? I didn’t wear my hydration pack and didn’t use my normal 5 minutes/1 minute run/walk interval. I ran the whole thing, carried a few GU and salt packs in my running belt, and utilized all of the water stops instead of drinking when I felt like it.

This wasn’t the first time I’d run this race without taking any walk breaks, but it was the first time I “raced” it. I was pushing myself as soon as I felt warmed up and ended with an official time of 2:09:37! My previous personal record of 2:14:48 was also set at this race, so the five-minute improvement is a pretty fair assessment, in my opinion. I’d just run about 12.9 miles — and walked the last 0.2 — with an average pace of 10:11 minutes/mile!

Back to Monterey — and reality.

TNT always has their longest run of the season in Monterey. It’s beautiful. The weather is usually on the cooler side. And it’s pretty flat. Sounds like a recipe for getting back on my 11:15 min./mile pace, right?

Nope. Even though I felt great, 12:00 min./mile was the best I could do. But at least I had a realistic assessment of where I was at, fitness-wise. And I saw a deer.

So, when I picked up my race bib in Seattle, I put “5:14” as my estimated finish time. And I ended up being pretty close to that!

The calm before the maybe-maybe-not storm.

In the days leading up to an event, I turn to Weather Underground’s forecasts. This being Seattle, the race forecast went from warm and sunny to cool and thunderstormy in the span of about four days. I’ve never done a race in the rain, so I was kind of freaking out. But one of my friends reminded me that rain is better than heat, which calmed me down a bit.

I flew in on Thursday, but not early enough to get my race stuff, so I just chilled out at the hotel. Nice view, too.

On Friday, I met my bro Eddie for breakfast. He’s lived in Seattle, off and on, for the last 20 years or so, and picked a nice English crumpet shop in Pike Place Market. We did some catching up and, because this was his first marathon, we also talked about race prep and what to expect. I’m always really happy to see others join the marathon club, but even more so for him because when I was going through a midlife crisis a few years back, he was one of many who pointed me to TNT — and I’ve never looked back. It’s a great experience and a great organization! This was also his third type of endurance event (he’d already done triathlons and a century bike ride), so he would be getting a little recognition at the inspiration dinner as a “triple crown” participant.

After breakfast, we went our separate ways: he had some work to finish and I… didn’t 🙂 I went to the expo, hooked up with some TNT alumni who were in town for the race, and we went to lunch afterward.

In case you hadn’t noticed, these events seem to revolve around food. Run to eat; eat to run! But when I got back to my room, I made sure my bib worked with my hydration pack, then “dressed my chair” so I wouldn’t forget anything or get stressed out the morning of the race.

Later that evening, we had a really inspirational inspiration dinner. Our MC was an honoree from the Seattle chapter and our honoree speaker was also a local. He was a pretty good speaker, mixing in crowd participation with equal parts humor and tear-jerking anecdotes about his fight with leukemia.

We also got a nice surprise from Toyota (the race sponsor): new TNT hats! I was looking for a new hat at the expo, but they were all too dark and not very breathable. These are the same brand and color I like, so I was stoked!

During dinner, we learned that 4 out of the top 5 fundraisers came from our chapter. Go Team!

After dinner, we met for a pre-race meeting. Since most of us had bought monorail tickets to the starting area, we decided to meet at 5:30 a.m. in the hotel lobby for final instructions, pictures, etc. So, I set my alarm for 4:00 a.m. — and woke up at 3:30. Oh well, I got about 4 hours of good sleep. You can hardly see the bags under my eyes in the team photo.

The start area was kind of confusing. It was at the Seattle Center, which was built for the 1962 World’s Fair, and wraps around the iconic Space Needle. So, obviously, it’s selfie time!

Since there were no signs to guide you, we all kind of wandered around. Even people who’d done this event before were confused because everything had changed. It was no longer a loop: the finish was a few miles away at CenturyLink Field. So, amid the mild chaos, I had to take a porta-potty selfie to text to my run wife Paulie. Don’t ask why. We’re just weird that way. You’ll see proof of that a little later.

We found our corrals with enough time to goof around, so why not take another selfie?

And another!

Then I found my buddy Eddie and a selfie happened.

Then, he went to his corral and I found Paulie. More selfies happened.

Then, we started to move. There were something like 45,000 people running today, so it took about 45 minutes for us to cross the start line. It didn’t help that the race was delayed 15 minutes for some unknown reason. But this is what the weather looked like when we got close to the start line.

“OMG, is that rain????”

After the race started, I put the phone away, so there are no race pics from me. Fortunately (in more ways than one), my friend Bree drove up from Portland to support us. She got a few good ones of me, which means she must be some kind of wizard.

She must’ve ran about 20 of the 26.2 miles with various friends and former teammates. Along the way, she gave me a great tip. I told her I was looking for a rest stop and she told me that if I could hold it until the half-marathoners split off onto their route, I’d have a much shorter line. She was right! In fact, I didn’t have a line at all. Here’s me afterward (I think was afterward…all I know is I was smiling after that instant porta-potty stop) 🙂

As for the race, itself, I had a much better experience than Portland. At the Portland Marathon, you start out with nice scenery, then suffer through the industrial section before grinding up St. Helens Road. By that time, even the prettiest scenery isn’t enough to overcome your pain.

In Seattle, the only ugly part was the tunnels. And then you can’t really see anything, anyway.

We started out in the urban center, then headed south and ran along the water’s edge until we hit the first tunnel. It was weird. All of a sudden, it got dark, warm and humid. There were some weird camber changes, too. This wasn’t too bad at the start, but from Mile 18-24, when you’re on the floating bridge of I-90, those tunnels start to hurt. They add some elevation changes, too.

True to the Rock and Roll name, there were some cool bands on the route. I especially liked the ones I heard in and around Seward Park. This is a remote area with almost no spectators, so having some good music to keep you pumped up was really helpful.

Also, this was the area when my mind (and body) started to play tricks on me. I don’t put sports drink powder in my hydration pack because it’s not real easy to clean. So I rely on electrolyte capsules and GU packs to provide the calories and electrolytes I need during the race. And this season, I added something called SportLegs to the mix. So somewhere around Mile 10, I realized I hadn’t had anything in a while, so I ate two electrolyte capsules and two SportLegs capsules. They did not sit well in my stomach. But rather than think I had indigestion, my hypochondriac self thought I was having a heart attack or something.

It’s funny how quickly things went south. One moment I was chugging along, focusing on my breathing and my cadence. The next, I was wondering if I should pull out of the race and if I collapsed, how long it would take for race medics to find me?

Then, two things happened: I let out a small burp and I hit the displays at Mile 16. First, the LLS had set up about 50 placards by the side of the road with honoree’s pictures on them. Then, there was an even larger display by a veterans group called “Wear Blue: Run to Remember” that honors fallen soldiers and helps their families. It seemed like I ran past a half-mile of people wearing blue and waving huge American flags, plus pictures of soldiers who “gave all.” One of the people I run for was a Vietnam veteran who beat throat cancer, but succumbed to heart failure after going into remission. I choked up a little, then refocused on what I was there for: to finish this thing for people who can’t.

The rest of the miles are kind of a blur because: a) they happened mostly on that damned floating bridge and b) that’s just what happens at the end of a marathon.  But I definitely remember feeling good throughout this race (besides the hypochondria part). At no point did I “hit the wall,” or even enter the “bite me” zone. My legs were tired, but that’s to be expected. And I didn’t feel any real pain until I sprinted (yes, 10:00 min./mile is sprinting for me) at the end.

I ran a lot at the end with Coach Meghan because I was the last person on our team and I think the second-to-last person with TNT out on the course, so she must’ve ran with me for a mile and a half. (Note: Until MarathonFoto gets its act together and lets me purchase these images, the watermarked versions will have to do. This is as big as they get, but you get the point.)

I also got a good run in with Coach Erin, who, for the second race in a row, was the first and last coach I saw. I told her the same thing when I saw her here as when I saw her first in Portland, “I’m okay now. Save your legs for later because I’m going to need you at the end of the race.” These two lovely lasses ran me in and if MarathonFoto’s photog had his shit together, you’d see some awesome pics of me surrounded by a couple of babes at the end of a marathon. But he decided on a closeup of me, which is never the right answer.

Another photographer saw us and at least captured the moment. But it’s not the same from farther away and from a different angle.

After I saw Erin, I could see the stadiums where the finish line was. I thought I only had a little ways to go, but the layout of the road fooled me. I ended up “sprinting” the last 1.25 miles!

That’s really the only reason my IT band hurt after the race. Other than that, I felt “fine.”

I staggered through the finish area, remembered to check out at the TNT tent and went looking for my finisher’s jacket. One of the cool things about this event is marathon finishers get a nice windbreaker. That’s when I saw Coach Tim. He helped me find the right line, which saved me probably about 20 minutes (the women’s line was long because they ran out of small sizes).

Then I turned around and went back to the TNT tent to collect my thoughts. This was a good thing because I couldn’t seem to collect anything else. Everywhere I went, I left something behind. If I sat down at a table to drink something, I’d leave my glasses there. When I got up to get my glasses, I’d leave my food where I’d been sitting. It felt like I was playing a one-man version of hide and seek.

Then I got a call from Eddie. Except he couldn’t hear me. I thought he butt-dialed me because all I could hear was crowd noise! But he called me back and we were actually standing about 50 feet apart. He beat me by 10 minutes — the bastard! — but he’s always been a better athlete than I, so that wasn’t too big a blow to my ego. Here I am, celebrating the triple crowner and newly minted marathoner!

And here I am taking a selfie with a well deserved beer at Sluggers across the street from the finish area! That’s where we ate as soon as we could figure out how to walk again.

Post-race stuff.

Since everyone had different finish times, we all ate at different times. So, it was hard to get the team together for dinner. But a few of us met in the hotel bar later in the evening (just in time for my second huge meal of the day) to swap race stories. I lasted until 10pm, then had to go to bed. It was a long, good day!

Fly-away day.

Met some folks for breakfast and ate my first oyster ever at Lowell’s at Pike Place Market. It was in a Bloody Mary 😉 Dang, that restaurant has a beautiful view of the sound!

Then we took a little walk around the area, but had to cut that short because we had to check out of the hotel.

At this point, I just want to say that Seattle’s public transportation is pretty awesome. I wish we had that kind of service in the Bay Area. Our light rail doesn’t even go to the airport…which is why I had to park in the $22/day lot…because the economy lot was full.

I knew I was on the same flight home as Paulie, but didn’t know that Christina was on that flight, too. That was a cool surprise. We had lunch together, found that our plane was rerouted to another gate together, and were figuring out how we were going to save a seat for Christina (who had a B boarding pass) when we got another surprise.

I saw Dennis, our old TNT team manager who now works for SWA! He was kind of pissed that we didn’t tell he we were coming BEFORE we got to Seattle, but still managed to sneak Christina on with the A group so we could all sit together. Sometimes it pays to have friends in high places 🙂

Made it home okay. The cats were okay (although Primo ignored me a lot last night). And today was okay. But I just realized that my Tuesdays are now free and that makes me a little sad.

Next up, I have to figure out if I can afford to do the NYC Marathon this fall!

Well, the 10-, 12- and 14-mile runs have been at or faster than my marathon goal pace of 11:15 minutes/mile. I am tired, but not feeling any aches, so I think my new plan of “run hard when you run, rest when you rest” is working. Or at least it hasn’t done any serious damage yet.

This one was a little slower than I would’ve liked.

This one was a little faster than I planned. And I had a negative split, but with a big hill right in the middle, that was to be expected.

This one was “just right.” Again, I had a negative split. And, again, it was to be expected with a pretty steep, muddy hill in the first half of the run.

For the last two long runs, I have been experimenting with Sport Legs, a nutritional supplement that basically gives you the fuel your muscles use at high exertion in the form of lactates. Supposedly, having lactates in your blood stream prior to exertion means your muscles can stop making it and just metabolize it. It also has some magnesium, which I’ve read can help with recovery. I take the recommended dosage before I run, a few capsules during the run to keep me fueled, and a few more afterward to help with recovery. I can’t say for sure if it’s working, but I also don’t want to stop taking it to find out. As the runs during our “off” weeks start to get longer, I will try running without it to see if I can feel a difference.

Anyway, that’s where I am in the season, physically speaking. Financially, a good friend just gave my fundraising efforts a huge boost, so I am confident that I can reach my goal before the end of the season.

Well, the 8-miler went pretty well. I didn’t finish in 90 minutes, but came pretty close (92 minutes and change). And that was with a long break at on water stop about halfway through the run to talk to Carrie and Kimberly, who are taking a break from TNT right now.

I did a 5/1 run/walk interval for the most part, but my running partner, Patti, doesn’t like to take walk breaks, so there were times when we skipped it. I felt pretty strong during the run and probably should have run the whole thing, but I want to use my long runs to simulate marathon pacing, which is why I am trying to do a run/walk @ 11:25 minutes per mile. I think this is possible. I just need to lose a little weight to make it easier on my body.

I’m going to make an effort to update this blog more often this season because I don’t know how much longer I can train for marathons. It is a grind, but so much easier than what cancer patients have to endure. That’s what keeps me going when the going gets tough, but they do what they do because they have to. I often wonder, “how much voluntary wear and tear I should put on this aging body of mine?” I don’t know, so I am starting to treat these training sessions as more special than previous seasons, and treat my body with more care.

I hopped on a scale the other day and found that I’d gained a lot of weight since my recent low of 180. Need to be better about my diet. Also plan on doing some yoga to add one day of activity to my weekly running. 

Last week, I was down in LA visiting my parents, so I ran six miles on my own. It made me miss my teammates. Not sure how people run long distances by themselves. Headphones probably would’ve helped, but it’s been a long time since I ran with them. I don’t even own any anymore that would be good for running.

Today, I will do eight miles with the team near my home. Hoping to break five hours on the marathon, so I’ll need to run 11:25 min/mile pace. That means I’ll need to finish today’s run in around 90 minutes. Wish me luck!

I haven’t posted here in a long time, but since I successfully completed the 2015 Portland Marathon, I haven’t exactly been taking it easy.

In November, I did two races: The Firehouse 10k, which benefits Santa Clara schools and their fire department, and the “Beat the Blerch” Half Marathon in Sacramento, which is organized by Matt Inman, author/artist behind The Oatmeal webcomic strip.

After a disappointing finish at Portland, I was pretty focused on doing well at these two races. And by “focused,” I mean, I rested a lot. I wasn’t super-happy with the way my IT band locked up, so I made sure I recovered from the marathon before even thinking of doing a real race. The rule of thumb is one recovery day for every mile you race, so the Firehouse Run was perfectly timed.

I’d never run a 10k, but felt like I could break one hour. So, I was pretty happy when I crossed the finish line at 58:05. Unfortunately, they only reported “gun time,” not “chip time,” so because I started at the back of the pack, my official time is 59:39. Oh well, still got under the one-hour mark!

Here we are (me, Steve and Paulie) at the finish area at Santa Clara University.

I’ve been a fan of Matt Inman’s comics for a long time. When I found out he was a long-distance runner, I immediately bought his book, “The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances.” And when he started organizing his own races, complete with sheet cakes and Nutella sandwiches at rest stops instead of the usual sports gels and healthy options, I signed up for the nearest “Beat the Blerch” race, which happened to be in Sacramento. (“The Blerch” is Inman’s imaginary character that motivates him to run by trying to tempt him into being lazy and eating junk food.)

I also talked Paulie and Chris into running it with me. Here we are at the start.

Also at the start: volunteers in Blerch costumes handing out marshmallows drizzled with chocolate sauce. I had one. It was not a good idea. And I discovered that early in the race. But the upset stomach feeling passed pretty quickly — without incident.

The course was fast and flat, so I wanted to do well. But I didn’t want a repeat of the Portland Marathon, so I took it pretty easy for the first half of the race. I told myself going into it that I would only evaluate my race prospects after the halfway mark. Around Mile 7, I decided that I felt pretty good. I planned on keeping that pace until Mile 10 or so, then see how much I had left in the tank for a fast finish. Of course, nature called and I had to take a pee break, but still clocked an 11:05 mile for that split, so it probably only cost me about 30 seconds.

Long story short: I was right at my personal record, depending on how you looked at it. I didn’t get a PR according to my chip time, but I was close. I got a 2:14:48 at the Capitola Half and finished this race in 2:14:59. But both courses were a little short, so I walked a bit after I crossed the finish line to get to 13.1 miles. Looking at it that way, I was a little slower at Beat the Blerch, but the finish area was very congested.

Didn’t matter, though. I finished my “season” on a high note. And I got my finish line pic taken on one of the ugly couches they had spread around the course. Obviously, this is not a race that takes itself too seriously — and neither do I.

I also did a pair of 10ks put on by Brazen Racing. Their end-of-the-year race on the 27th and the New Year’s race on the first. These were trail races that ended up more like fast hikes with a little running here and there. I did them just to keep active — and because they have a cool, third medal for people who do both races, which connects the medals for doing each race.

So, now we’re solidly into 2016 and I’m back with Team in Training for the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon. Wish me luck — and please help me reach my goal of raising $2,620 to fight blood cancers!

Wow, that was a tough race! I went into it not expecting to do well because my training season had been slowed by knee pain at the start and mild plantar fasciitis at the end. But for some reason, I set really high stretch goals. First, I wanted to break five hours. If I couldn’t do that, I wanted to get a new PR, which would mean finishing in under 5:17. If I couldn’t do that, I wanted to finish faster than my Chicago Marathon time of 5:34. If I couldn’t do THAT, I just wanted to finish.

If you don’t want to wade through all of the gory details, I finished in 5:27:02, slowed by a very painful IT band which locked up around Mile 22.

Still reading? Here we go!

Friday, October 2nd.

Leaving the Bay Area. I flew out early on Friday because I wanted to spend some time exploring the city when I got there and I wanted to rest as much as possible on Saturday.

Arriving in Portland. Notice how much greener it is? The funny thing is, they just legalized recreational pot the day before I arrived. I wanted so badly to buy some, but the opportunity never presented itself. It was funny seeing a TSA agent with what I assume was a drug dog as I was leaving the secure area of the airport. There was also a sign that said something like, “Please don’t try to bring recreational marijuana on the plane. Thank you, PDX.”

I got to the hotel before 11am, but they let me check in really early. Thanks, Marriott! I got settled in my room, then took a little stroll around the city.

This is the river walk. I really liked Downtown Portland and could envision living here if it got more sun.

Then I went to the expo to pick up my race stuff. It was held in the basement of the Portland Hilton and felt like a really bad combination of dank and cheesey. For starters, it was held on two basement floors. Bib pickup was held on the lower floor. You were then channeled through the race merchandise booth and the first level of expo booths. You had to go to the upper floor to get your gear backpack (and since there was no gear check at this race, it should’ve just been a shopping bag or something). I usually like to pick up a souvenir, but I didn’t like any of the official gear. I did pick up a new Flipbelt because my old one was a little loose now that I’ve lost a bit of weight. I bumped into our team manager, Lorri, and we went downstairs to do more shopping. I ended up with a decent long-sleeve t-shirt and a cool sweatshirt from an earlier Portland Marathon. Bonus: they were a lot cheaper than this year’s stuff!

After we bailed from the expo, we grabbed a bite to eat at Kat’s Crepes. I only had three things on my agenda for this trip: eat, drink and run. I ended up doing a lot of all three!

Lorri’s iPhone was acting up, so she made a Genius Bar appointment at the Portland Apple Store. So we headed over there and waited. And waited. I think I gave up after half an hour and left her to meet up with Richard, Lucy and Bree, our local host who’d moved up there last spring. They were at the expo, so I went back there, found them and walked through the dismal display of booths and merchandise a second time.

Then we headed over to the only touristy thing on my wish list: Powell’s City of Books. It’s huge! Yet, the marathon section wasn’t any bigger than you’d find at any other bookstore, and they didn’t have the one I had in mind, a book called “Fast After Forty.” But serendipity struck and I found one I really liked. It’s called “A Street Cat Named Bob.” I’d heard about it before, but it didn’t really make an impression on me at the time. But it’s a great story: a recovering drug addict adopts a cat, learns how to be responsible, and thanks to the attention he and the cat attract while busking and selling a London street magazine called “The Big Issue,” becomes internet-famous and gets off the street. It’s a quick read, which actually feels more like a blog, but I liked it so much, I bought the follow-up, “The World According to Bob.”

After walking forever, we went to the Deschutes Brew Pub. Beer and burger were delicious. We also went to a cupcake place, then I went back to the hotel.

A little later that evening, I got a message from Kimberly and Julia, who drove up from Morgan Hill and were staying at a fancy boutique hotel called the Nines. So, I met them for a drink and a game of Cards Against Humanity, which is always hilarious.

Let’s see…getting up early for my flight, walking all over Portland, eating and drinking…yup, that night, I slept pretty well.

Saturday, October 3rd.

Met up with Jen, Pete, Rich and Kimberly for breakfast at a place Bree, Richard and Lucy went the day before: Pine State Biscuits. There was a food cart version in Downtown, but we wanted a sit-down breakfast. So we took a cab across the river. The place was pretty small, and there was a line out the door. But we got our table after about 20 minutes. It was well worth it! This place had the best biscuit gravy I’ve ever had! I ordered the Reggie Deluxe, which was fried chicken, bacon & cheese topped with gravy and an egg (which was what made it “deluxe”). It was so good, I wanted another one! Everyone else thought I was kidding, but I was serious! Didn’t get one, though.

I finally tried Lyft on the way back. I hailed a “cab” (Lyft car?) and miscalculated how many were in our party because Kimberly met us at the restaurant. So, we had to split up. I think our driver was new to Lyft because he didn’t know how the app worked from a navigation standpoint and had to use Apple Maps. He also wasn’t the best driver. I think I gave him three stars, but at least we got back safely.

Met up with Paulie and her husband Harold later. I needed some food and supplies for the next day, and she needed to make her pilgrimage to Lululemon, so we hailed an Uber car and hit up the shops. Went to Whole Foods afterward, then back to the hotel for more rest before the TNT Inspiration Dinner.

Go Team!

Our awesome staff!

After dinner, it was time to prepare for the race. Pinned my bib and made sure it fit under my hydration backpack straps. I was kinda bummed because it was so large that it covered up my honorees. But I know who they are and that’s all that matters.

Then I dressed my chair and tried to get some sleep. It wasn’t easy. The Angels were fighting for a playoff spot and the game didn’t end until 11pm. Still, I set my alarm for 4am and never heard the end of the game. So I must’ve gotten at least five hours of sleep.

Sunday, October 4th.

We met in the lower lobby at 6am, got our final pep talk from Coach Meghan, and made our way to our starting corrals. I was psyched!

Blurry selfie.

Obligatory porta-potty shot.

And we’re off!

I figured that if I wanted to break five hours, I’d need to average a little under 11:30 minutes/mile. And if I reached the top of St. John’s Bridge at Mile 17 in 3:15, I’d have a good shot at achieving my stretch goal because, according to the course elevation profile, it would be all downhill from there.

Naturally, the course elevation profile is fucked up and wrong! But I’ll get to that part later.

The first part is accurate: a gentle downhill at the start, a fairly big bump, then a lot of flatness. So, my plan was to go out slow and use a 5-minute/1-minute run/walk interval, but not start my walk breaks until I got to the bump. My thinking was that I’d warm up faster if I didn’t take two walk breaks on the downhill. Not sure if it helped or hurt or didn’t make a damned bit of difference.

I felt good and chatted with some coaches at the early part of the course. They run with you for awhile, and that mileage really adds up depending on how many TNT participants are doing a race. So, around Mile 4 or 5, I told Coach Erin, “I’m good. Save your legs for after Mile 20 when I’ll really need your support!”

Portland got its name because it’s a major port. That also means there are a lot of trains that run through it. The race program even warns you that you might have to stop for one because they have the right of way. What it doesn’t tell you is that where it’s flat and easy to run, it’s also full of ugly, industrial buildings and train tracks that used to serve them. While I didn’t have to stop for any trains, I did have to watch my footing crossing all those tracks.

Along the route, there were also a few pot dispensaries. A few of us joked that a joint would’ve been really nice to have later in the race, but I didn’t take advantage of its legal status the whole weekend.

Just after the small bump at Mile 12, you start a long, gentile climb. It’s much nicer scenery than the flat part, but it never changes. You see a wooded hillside to your left and the Willamette River on your right. Forever. And ever. Here it is.

This is near Mile 15. And that’s the St. John’s Bridge, where I would see if I had a chance to reach my stretch goal or not. Shortly after taking this picture, I had my first surprise.

Here’s a closeup of the course profile. Looks like a nice, even climb for about a mile and a half, right?

Here’s what my GPS watch said it looked like. My eyes and legs concur: it is not a an even climb! You basically get to Mile 16, round a slight bend, and come face-to-face with a wall! I had to walk that beast, so it threw my time off a little. But that shocking discovery just messed with my head and my legs. Both of these things would come back to haunt me later.

For what it’s worth, that huge valley is actually where the St. John’s Bridge crosses the river. GPS data usually follows the earth, not structures, so at those coordinates, it’s like 12 feet over sea level when you’re really at 150 feet.

Anyway, I got to the bridge a little after my stretch goal marker of 3:15. I think it was 3:22 when I saw Meghan and we took the awesomest race pic ever!

I told Meghan she was a great coach and that I thought this was the marathon would teach me a lesson. She asked me what lesson had I learned and I said, “I won’t know that until it’s over.”

Okay, so I wasn’t going to run a sub-5-hour marathon. I could still get a PR. Or so I thought until I left her and ran down the other side of the bridge and got the next surprise. Instead of being a gentle decline which leads to a flat section, it’s actually a steep downhill, which taxes your legs in a different way, followed by a short, steep climb, followed by another gentle climb.

Side note: If I ever meet the person responsible for this course profile illustration, I will not be held responsible for any and all acts of violence I may or may not inflict upon him or her.

I was still feeling okay, mentally and physically, but I knew I wasn’t going to have anything left at the end of this race. I hoped I could hold on for a PR. That’s when I met my new ex-girlfriend.

This is Wendy. She’s from Calgary (no, seriously, my new ex-girlfriend lives in Canada…you wouldn’t know her). This is her 34th marathon. We met around Mile 19. She was running steadily and I was doing my run/walk, so we passed each other a lot and I finally struck up a conversation with her. Sometimes, the people you meet during a race don’t want to hear from you — or vice versa — but I could tell from the comments she was making to volunteers and other runners that she was cool. She encouraged me to keep running, but I knew our love wasn’t meant to last. We parted ways around Mile 22…after my right IT band started locking up.

This was a new problem for me. I’d never experienced an IT band problem before, but I could not start running after a walk break without feeling excruciating pain. I was also cramping at various times in my left hip flexor and both quads. I could control that by taking in more electrolytes and fluids and it wasn’t too bad. But the IT band was really bad. I had to stop a few times to massage it, only to find that I had a hard time walking with it acting up again. I found the best thing to do was to run slowly. For some reason, it didn’t feel as bad when I was running. But after running through a walk break because I was on a steep downhill (which, once again, the course profile got wrong!), my IT band stopped cooperating at Mile 22 and it was a struggle all the way to the finish line.

Still smiling, though. Even through the pain! This was taken just after crossing the Broadway Bridge. That’s Portland’s Union Station in the background.

This is the home stretch, probably a mile from the finish line. Not smiling anymore, although I bet if I’d seen the photographer before he or she got this shot, I probably would’ve. It’s my camera reflex.

And there’s the finish line! After five hours, 27 minutes and two seconds of (mostly) running, I could finally stop. But I was kind of pissed because two women holding hands jumped in front of me and held up a sign just as I was crossing the finish line. I thought they ruined my finish line pic(s). What’s worse, the two women were TNT participants, so I couldn’t even make a snide comment about race etiquette.

I’m glad I didn’t, though, because after picking up my finishers swag, I saw the photo-blockers near the TNT check-out tent. One of them broke down crying and the other was comforting her. I remember my first marathon and if this was hers — or maybe, like me, she just had a really bad race — I forgave her completely for whatever faux pas she committed. Also, unbeknownst to me, the photo company had a lot of people stationed at the finish line, including some on cherry pickers. So, they had a lot of angles to choose from.

After the race, you get a rose (Portland is the city of roses, apparently) and you’re supposed to get a cedar sapling to take home and plant. But in my run-addled, totally exhausted state, I just told the volunteer handing them out, “No thanks, I’d probably just throw it away.” I guess I’m a real jerk after running 26.2 miles 🙂

And that’s it for the race. I wandered around (staggered around, really) and was trying to make my way back to the team hotel when I encountered a barricade manned by a lone security guard. “How can I get to the Marriott?” I asked. He had a pitiful look on his face and said, “I’m really, really sorry, but you’re going to have to go up this street a few blocks and go the other way around.” I just thanked him and turned around. He was just the bearer of bad news. At least my IT band was feeling better after a little rest.

I limped back to the hotel, having already messaged teammates to have a beer waiting for me. Team in Training peeps are the best! I had a couple of beers while I recovered and swapped stories with my teammates. I found out that Paulie had a bad race and threw up right after the bridge. She was about a half hour off her PR. Jen had a bad race, but still set a new PR. She wanted to break five hours, too, but couldn’t complain about her results.

When I finally had the strength to get back to my room, I laid out my swag for this pic, then hopped in the shower. Oregon doesn’t have a drought, or water restrictions, like us Californians do, so it was a long, glorious shower indeed!

The TNT after-party was held at Kells Irish Pub. I went with Paulie and Harold and we ate and drank like there was no tomorrow. It was great! Jen had to fly back that evening. I don’t know how she did it, but she went to work the next day.

Monday, October 5th.

After a good night’s rest, I got up, finished packing and went downstairs to get coffee and maybe something to eat. I didn’t feel like walking around, so I just went to the hotel bar, which had Starbucks coffee and pastries. Combined with what was left from my Whole Foods trip, I had enough food to get me to the airport.

PDX is a weird airport in that they have a lot of shops and stuff before you get to the security area. So, I stopped at the first food place that looked good, bought a breakfast burrito and a bottle of orange juice, and devoured the burrito so fast, I didn’t have time to drink the OJ, so I stashed it in my backpack and moved on — totally forgetting that you can’t bring liquids like that through the checkpoint.

Guess who got stopped by the TSA? It wasn’t too bad. They just tested my shoes and bags for explosives residue and asked me if I wanted to keep the drink and go through security again after I’d finished it. I said, “no, thanks,” and chalked it up to experience.

There were a few teammates on my flight. I sat with Paulie and Harold.

The rest of the return trip was uneventful and after reading so much about Street Cat Bob, I was really glad to get home and see my two cats!

Epilogue.

This season has had its ups and downs, but not getting a PR was really a bummer. I’ve been getting steadily faster as a runner and to miss by ten minutes is sobering. But I now know the lessons this marathon taught me: I set an unrealistically fast stretch goal and went out way too fast trying to achieve it. Thankfully, I don’t think I did any lasting damage and probably have enough left in this old (and getting older) body to try for a new marathon PR next year. I am going to enter the NYC Marathon lottery again and hope to get in. Not sure what other fall marathons I could do if I don’t. Chicago is always a possibility. But whatever, I have to get through the post-TNT-season blues first. It’s always a let-down because you grow close to a lot of people during the season and then you kind of go your separate ways afterward. Oh well, there’s always Facebook.

Lorri also wants me to join the cycle team for AMBRR in June. I wouldn’t mind doing that one again, but I told her if I do, it’ll be as a participant because I want to see how fast I can do it. I can’t do that if I’m ride support.

I guess I should look at the bright side: I still have things to look forward to while I enjoy not training for a marathon!

Okay, it wasn’t terrible, but I did have stomach troubles for the first time on a run. Thankfully, it happened at the track, where a nice bathroom was never more than a few hundred yards away.

Not sure what caused it: going out too fast; eating a big, late lunch; or possibly the after effects of overindulging and eating like crap for three days? Probably the latter. But I knew something was wrong by the second lap of our time trial. Normally, I’d do three miles. Tonight, I could barely manage two. I had a decent time of 18:48, but have no way to measure that against my first time trial of the season. 

Oh well, the experience of dealing with pretty bad stomach cramps while running was probably more valuable in the long run (no pun intended) than another time trial and another set of numbers to crunch.

Since my last update:

• My knee is doing fine. I think minimizing the trail running has helped.
• The girl with the lofty goals did indeed get hurt, but she’s dealing with it.
• I ran a 12-miler with Paulie.
• I split my 14-miler into two 7-milers because I wanted to go to Outside Lands that weekend.
• I ran my 16-miler a week early because I want to enjoy a restful (and drunken) camping trip next weekend.

Sunday, July 19th, 2015

About a month after my last post, I did the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon. It was dreadfully warm and humid. I was dreadfully unprepared. I typically wear my hydration backpack on long runs, but I had such good results without it at the Capitola Half, I foolishly decided to leave it at home and rely on the race organizers to have enough water and sports drink on hand. They did, but the combination of the heat, humidity and a rumor that the water stops were running out of water had me running well below my best pace at the beginning so that I might have something left for the end.

Then, the clouds went away and it got a lot hotter really fast. I decided that I wasn’t going to PR, but wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, so I cranked it up a little. I finished with an official time of 2:27:43. Not what I’d hoped for, but I learned that my backpack is going to be part of my race attire from here on out. What I gain in weight and chafing is more than made up for by the extra confidence it gives me. I know that when I wear it, I can handle just about anything (assuming I pack for it).

Saturday, July 25th, 2015

Here’s a pic of me and Paulie at about Mile 5 on the TNT Sawyer Camp Trail Run. Notice that we’re both wearing hydration backpacks 🙂

We were at the dam, which is only halfway to the top of that gnarly climb.

Friday and Saturday, August 7th and 8th, 2015

As I mentioned earlier, last week was the Outside Lands music festival. It was also our 14-mile Half Moon Bay training run. I didn’t run here before, so I really wanted to check out the coastal trail. But I also wanted to enjoy the festival (and a party afterward at a friend’s house in SF), so I split the run into two. I did 7 miles on Friday morning before a long day and night of music at Golden Gate Park. Then I stayed at a hotel in South San Francisco with my friend so I wouldn’t have to drive all the way back to my house in San Jose, then drive up to Half Moon Bay, then drive back and take a shower before going back to Golden Gate Park. Make sense? I thought it did at the time.

Didn’t matter. After running 7 miles on Saturday, I grabbed lunch, headed back to the hotel room, showered and by the time I was ready to take a little nap, it was time to go back to the festival. I was beat, but also very glad I didn’t do 14 miles all at once. That probably would’ve finished me for the rest of the day. Regardless, I spent a lot of time on my feet that weekend and was feeling it well into the following week.

For what it’s worth, the festival was very mediocre and so crowded, it was hard to move around. I don’t think I’ll be going back anymore.

Saturday, August 15th, 2015

This weekend, I learned a very important lesson — probably more important than the one I learned in Napa; it’s better to be safe than hospitalized for dehydration and heatstroke.

I chose a really hot day to do 16 miles by myself. I was dressed properly, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and hat to keep the sun off me. I thought I was properly hydrated going into the run. I ate a good, light breakfast in the morning. And my backpack was loaded with a liter of water, lots of electrolyte tablets and four GU packs for nutrition.

The problem was I started at 8:40 a.m. instead of 8:00 as I’d planned. I missed out on running with others, who, unlike me, got their shit together on time. That meant I’d be running later in the day when the temperature was expected to be in the 80s.

The first half of the run was great. It wasn’t too hot and I was feeling good. Strava says I was 4 minutes faster than last year running from Campbell Park to the top of the dam at the Lexington Reservoir. But I should have taken my time instead of running up all the hills and up the face of the dam. That would come back to bite me later.

But here I am at the top, with the reservoir and some porta-potties in the background, as is our custom.

On the way back, it started to get really hot. There was a little tailwind, but because I was running the same speed, the net effect felt like still air to me. Hot, still air.

So, I slowed down. But around Mile 11, I started to feel a little light-headed. Since I was by myself, I had to slow down. I also extended my walk breaks because finishing the run safely was more important than sticking to my 5/1 interval.

Around Mile 13, I hit the closest thing to the wall I ever have. I was light-headed and my heart rate was pretty high. Soon afterward, I decided to run or walk based on my heart rate. When it got close to 165, I walked. I didn’t run again until it was back down to around 150. That meant a lot of walking, but at least I wasn’t over-stressing my body. I walked most of the last mile to try to keep my heart rate under control, but hey, it doesn’t matter. It’s over now and I can enjoy my camping trip next weekend!